Extension hanger



May l, 1962 w. w. DoLLlsoN EXTENSION HANGER 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 21 2 FIG 3 ,cla '-4 ,cval ,clau

mlM/M TTOP/VEKS' May 1, 196,2 w. w. DoLLlsoN 3,032,113

EXTENSION HANGER Original Filed April 21, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'l tats 2 Claims. (Cl. 1166-125) This invention relates to wire line operable means for the completion of a multiple Zone well, and more speciically to an extension hanger for use in such completion operations whereby two zones may be separately produced and in which either Zone may be reworked by wire line while allowing the other Zone to be produced.

This application is a division of my parent application, Serial No. 729,682, filed April 21, 1958, and entitled Means for Carrying Out a Removable Flow Tube Program.

Heretofore it has been the practice in multiple zone well completion to use two separate tubing strings in which one string extends downwardly to one production zone and the other string extends downwardly to the second production zone. The tubing strings are packed off to the casing above and below the upper zone so as to allow simultaneous separate production of the two zones. Although this practice permits limited reworking operations to be carried out, without pulling the tubing strings (e.g., perforating of the lower zone, and/or chemical treatment of either Zone), it does not permit enough. To fully rework either zone, it is necessary to pull and later replace the tubing, which is costly and time-consuming since it requires a tubing handling rig to be kept at the well, or re-erected as needed.

The present invention has been made to provide equipment to overcome the above limitations by permanently installing two tubing strings in a multiple zone well, as will later be described. After this installation has been made, the rig may be disassembled and removed to another well for use there. Thereafter, all operations in the well are carried out by wire line operations which are considerably faster and more economical. The Well installation can then be completed so that each zone produces separately or simultaneously through the two tubing strings. If reworking operations are later required, the Well installation can be changed without pulling the tubing so that either zone may be fully reworked while the other Zone is free to produce simultaneously while reworking operations are carried out.

One example of the necessity of a reworking operation is where water encroachment is encountered. In this case, the producing formation must be cemented, the excess cement must be removed, and the zone reperforated above the water level. In the present invention, such reworking operation may be carried on in the lower zone, and repeated as necessary, while the upper zone continues in production.

Another example is where an exploratory hole iS drilled and a number of producing formations is penetrated. It is only necessary to install one packer above the uppermost formation, the lower packer being installed at a desired level. Then all formations except two are cemented. Thereafter, cementing and perforating operations can be carried out, as desired, without the necessity for pulling the permanently installed tubing.

The primary object of this invention is to provide wire line operable means for use in producing and reworking a multiple zone well by wire line equipment alone so that a zone or zones below the bottom packer may be produced simultaneously with and independently of the zone or zones above the packer, so that the upper arent ICC zone or zones may be independently reworked simultaneously with the production of the lower zone or zones, and so that the lower zone or zones may be independently reworked simultaneously with the production of the upper zone or zones. l

A further object of the invention is to provide an extension hanger for use in hanging extension tubing in a multiple zone well and in which the extension hanger may be run into the well, landed and locked in place in the well and retrieved from the well by use of wire line equipment.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide an extension hanger adapted to be landed in a landing nipple having spaced apart upwardly and downwardly facing shoulders, said hanger comprising a vertically disposed generally cylindrical mandrel having a main passage axially therethrough and a downwardly facing seating surface formed at the lower end thereof adapted to seat upon the upwardly facing shoulder of said landing nipple, a plurality of resilient elongated iinger members fixedly mounted at one end thereof on and around the exterior of said mandrel, said elongated finger members extending longitudinaliy along said mandrel, an upwardly facing seating surface formed on the free: ends of said finger members, means operable by wire line for forcing said free ends of said finger members outwardly from the axis of said mandrel whereby said upwardly facing surfaces thereon may engage the downwardly facing landing nipple shoulder, packing means on the exterior of said mandrel below said finger members for sealing the space between said mandrel and the landing nipple, said mandrel further having a radial passage therethrough below said packing means, a ring valve member mounted on said main passage and longitudinally slidable therein, a shear pin extending through said radial passage and into said ring member to normally prevent sliding movement of said ring member relative to said mandrel, and sealing means disposed between said ring member and said mandrel to normally prevent fluid flow through said radial passage.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the course of the following detailed description.

In the drawings, forming a part of this application, and in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals throughout the same,

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration 0f permanently installed well equipment.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 are schematic illustrations of various combinations of wire line handled equipment which may be run into the permanently installed well equipment of FIG. 1 to provide differing production and reworking flow paths.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an extension hanger ernbodying the principles of the present invention and a landing nipple usable in the combinations of equipment illustrated in FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a wire line tooi for landing and removing the extension hanger of FIG. 5.

Referring now to the drawings, the permanent installation of FIG. l comprises a well casing 1t) extending from ground level down through upper and lower producing formations, or Zones, 11 and 12. The well casing is perforated at 13 and 14 at the level of these formations. Two tubing strings 15 and 15a extend downwardly through the casing and are packed off to the cas ing at the lower end by a conventional dual bore packer 16 at a level above the upper production zone 11. Another conventional dual bore packer 17, modified in a manner to be hereinafter described, is Set in the casing at a level between the upper and lower production zones 11 and 12.

Each tubing string 15 and 15a is provided with a landing nipple, 13 and 18a, respectively, at a level above the lower ends of the tubing strings, and a remotely controllable side por-t nipple 19 is connected into tubing string 15 betweenthe landing nipple 18 and packer 15.

FIG. 2 illustrates a production combination wherein an extension hanger 21 is landed in landing nipple 15 to support extension pipe 22 having a safety joint 23 connected at its lower end which is landed in one bore of packer 17. The other bore of packer 17 is plugged by a plugging tool 242.v ln this combination, the side port nipple 19 is closed, and :the upper zone 11 is produced through tubing string 15a while the lower zone 12 is produced through the extension pipe 22 and the tubing string 15.

FIG. 3 illustrates a reworking combination wherein the side port nipple 19 has been opened to allow the lower Zone 12 to again be produced through extension pipe 22 and tubing string 15, while the upper Zone 1l may be reworked through a flow path down through -tubing string 15a to between packers i6 and 17 and upwardly through the side port nipple 19 into the tubingcasing annulus.

FIG. 4 illustrates another reworking combination wherein the plugging tool 24 has been removed from the lower packer 17, and an extension hanger 21a has been landed in landing nipple 13a. An extension pipe 22a extends downwardly from the extension hanger 21a and is connected 'by safety joint 23a to packer 17. This combination allows the upper zone i1 to be. produced through the side port nipple 19 and the tubing-casing annulus while reworking operations in the lower zone 12 may be carried out through tubing strings 15 and 15a and extension pipes 22 and 22a.

The extension Vhanger 21, illustrated in FIG. 5, is adapted to seat and lock into the landing nipple 18,*the latter being provided with a downwardly facing seating shoulder 31, a bore 32; andan upwardly facing seating shoulder 33.

The extension hanger 21 `comprises an elongated vertically disposed generally cylindrical mandrel 35 formed byy the interconnected lock mandrel 35, collet mandrel 37 and valve housing 3S. The valve housing 3S is upwardly and outwardly inclined at the lower end thereof to provide a downwardly facing seating surface 39 which is adapted to seat upon the upwardly facing shoulder 33 of the landing nipple. The mandrel 35 is threaded at 40 at the lower end thereof for connecting the extension tubing 22 thereto.

A plurality of resilient elongated collet members 41 have their lower ends fixedly mounted or integralV with collet mandrel 37 and are spaced around the mandrel. These linger members extend longitudinally upwardly along the mandrel and have an upwardly facing seating surface 42 formed on the free ends thereof for engagement `with the downwardly facing shoulder 31 of the landing nipple.

An expander 'sleeve 43 is mounted on lock mandrel 36 for limited longitudinal movement thereon between upper and lower positions relative thereto, and has an upwardly extending top sub 44 connected thereto.

rThe expander sleeve has a cam surface 45 thereon so that when the expander sleeve is moved downwardly to its lower position, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the sleeve will slide between the mandrel 35 and the free ends of the finger Imembers 41 to cam the free ends outwardly from the axis of the mandrel in order to lock the upwardly facing seating surface 42 into engagement with the downwardly facing landing nipple shoulder 31. When the expander sleeve is moved upwardly, the cam surface 45 thereon will be removed `from outward holding engagement with the linger members, which will allow the free ends thereof to move inwardly toward the axis of the mandrel.

The upper end of the top sub 44 has a downwardly and inwardly inclined surface 46 and an internal annular fishing groove 47 for engagement by wire line retrieving tools.

A packing member 48 is provided on mandrel 35 below fthe finger members 41 for sealing engagement with the landing nipple bore 32,.

For pressure equalizing purposes, the valve housing 3S is provided with a radial passage 49 therethrough, which passage is below the packing member 43. A ring valve member 59' is longitudinally slidably disposed withinthe valve housing and is secured against movement relative thereto by means of shear pin 51 extending through the radial passage. The inner surface 5?, of the ring valve has a smaller diameter than the diameter of the axial passage 53 of the mandrel 35. O-rings- 54 and 55 are disposed between the ring member and valve housing above and below the radial passage 49 to prevent iiuid flow therethrough.

FIG. 6 illustrates a running and pulling tool et) for use with well tools having an inner annular shing groove, such as the extension hanger illustrated in FIG. 5. This device comprises a vertically disposed generally cylindrical mandrel 61 having a fishing neck 62 connected at its upper end and locked thereto by locking screw 63. The fishing neck is undercut at 64 and is providedA with a threaded connection 65 for attachment, to suitable wire line tools.

A nose member 66 is connected to the lower end of mandrel 61 and isV locked thereto by roll' pin 67. Fluid communication is provided through tool 66 by port 68 in the nose 56 and port 69 in the iishing neck 62, each por-t being in communication with the mandrel bore 70. The nose member is provided with a downwardly and outwardly projecting cam surface 71.

The mandrel 61 has a plurality of longitudinal grooves 72 formed in the outer surface thereof and extending upwardly from the cam surface 71. As is seen from the drawings, the upper ends of the grooves 72 curve upwardly and outwardly at 73 from the axis of the mandrel.

A locking dog 75, longitudinally slidably disposed within each groove, has a lower end provided with a downwardly and outwardly inclined surface 76 complementary to the `cam surface 71, and an outwardly projecting portion 77 adapted to fit within the fishing groove o-f a well tool. The dog is also provided with an inwardly extending projection 78 on the upper portion thereof engaging the bottom of groove 72.

A. spring Sil, confined :between mandrel flange 81 .and thrust ring 32, resiliently biases the locking dogs downwardly against the cam surface 71, to cause the lower ends of the locking dogs to move outwardly from the axis of the tool, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

A sleeve S3- is mounted on mandrel o1 for limited longitudinal movement thereon, and is normally held in its lower position thereon by shear pin 84. A compression spring $5, conned between the sleeve 83 and mandrel ange 81, biases the sleeve upwardly. An inturned ange 86 on the lower end of sleeve S3 engages the shoulder 87 on dog member 75 and the mid-portion thereofto restrain outward movement of the dogs from the grooves 72.

The lnnning and pulling tool 60 is used to land and retrieve the extension hanger 21 in the landing nipple 18- in the following manner. The tool d@ is connected at the top of the well to the extension hanger, with the outwardly projecting lower dog ends 77 of the running tool engaging groove 47 of the top sub of the extension hanger, and with the bottom of the sleeve 83 of the running tool in engagement with the upper end of the top sub 44. The weight of the extension hanger pulls downwardly on the running tool dogs 75 so that they remain camrned outwardly into the top sub groove 47. The running i001 is now lowered by wire line through the tubing until the bottom end 39` of the extension hanger rests upon the inwardly extending lower shoulder 33 of the landing nipple.

The running tool is now jarred downwardly, which forces the top sub 44 of the extension hanger downwardly with respect to the now stationary lock mandrel 36 thereof. This causes the expander sleeve 43 to move downwardly on mandrel 36, expanding the collet fingers 41 outwardly into the landing nipple so that the fingers engage the downwardly facing shoulder' 3l thereof to securely lock the extension hanger against upward or downward movement in the landing nipple 13. The extension hanger packing 43 engages the honed bore 32 of the landing nipple to prevent any fluid flow thereby.

Additional downward jarring of the running tool 60 causes screw 84 to shear, releasing sleeve 83 for upward movement by spring S5, so that the sleeve fiange 86 pulls the dogs 75 upwardly against the force of the weaker spring 3f?. As the dogs 75 move upwardly, their inward projections 73 will be cammed outwardly by the groove portions 73, thus pivoting the lower ends 77 thereof inwardly to clear the fishing groove 47 of the extension hanger top sub 44. The running tool may now be withdrawn from the well, leaving the extension hanger 2l locked in place in the landing nipple 18.

The extension hanger may be retrieved by the same tool 60. The tool is fitted at the top of the well with a new shear screw 84 and is lowered by wire line through the well tubing until the nose 66 enters the top sub and the lower ends 77 of the dogs rest upon the top sub inclined surface 46 of the extension hanger Z1. The tool 60 is now jarred downwardly, which causes the dogs 75 to be forced upwardly in grooves 72. Again, this movement causes the lower dog ends 77 to pivot inwardly so that the tool can move downwardly within the top sub 44 of the extension hanger until such movement is limited by the engagement of the sleeve 83 with the upper end of the top sub 44. At this time the dogs 75 are free to be forced downwardly by spring $0 so that the lower dog ends 77 lock into the top sub groove 47.

The tool 66 is now jarred upwardly to pull the top sub and expander sleeve upwardly relative to the lock mandrel 36, freeing the collet fingers 4l for inward movement. The tool is now pulled from the well, with the extension hanger suspended therefrom.

If it is necessary to equalize pressures between the inside and outside of the extension hanger prior to the removal thereof, a prong member (not shown) may be lowered through the bore 53 of the extension hanger to engage the ring valve 50. Downward jarring will shear the pin 51 and will move the valve downwardly to uncover passage 49. The unequal pressures will force the remainder of pin 51 out of passage 49 so that fiuid may fiow therethrough to equalize the pressures.

As is apparent from the above description, the extension hanger 2l may be run down the tubing strings, landed and locked in place and removed when desired, all by the use of wire line equipment alone, so that the production and reworking operations of FIGS. l-4 may be carried out. The specific details of the safety joint 23, plugging tool 24 and side port nipple 19, whereby these elements may also be operated completely by wire line equipment are fully illustrated and described in my parent application, Serial No. 729,682, together with a detailed description of the manner and sequence in which the operations of FIGS. 1-4 are performed.

It is to be realized that the form of the extension hanger described herein is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that various changes may be made in the shape, size and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the attached claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An extension hanger comprising: a vertically disposed generally cylindrical mandrel having a main passage axially therethrough and a downwardly facing seating surface formed at the lower end thereof, means on the lower portion of said mandrel for connecting well tubing thereto, a plurality of resilient elongated finger members fixedly mounted at one end thereof on and around the exterior of said mandrel, said elongated linger members extending longitudinally along said mandrel, an upwardly facing seating surface formed on the free ends of said finger members, an expander sleeve mounted on said mnadrel for limited longitudinal movement thereon between first and second positions relative thereto, cam means on said expander sleeve slidable between said mandrel and said free ends of said finger members to force said free finger member ends outwardly from said mandrel when said sleeve is in its first position, said cam means being removed from between the mandrel and the free ends of said fingers when said sleeve is in its second position to allow said free ends to move inwardly towards said mandrel, packing means on the exterior of said mandrel below said finger members, said mandrel further having a radial passage therethrough below said Vpacking means, a ring valve member mounted on said main passage and longitudinally slidable therein, a shear pin extending through said radial passage and into said ring member to normally restrain sliding movement of said ring member relative to said mandrel, and sealing means disposed between said ring member and said mandrel to normally prevent fluid fiow through said radial passage.

2. An extension hanger adapted to be landed in a landing nipple having spaced apart upwardly and downwardly facing shoulders, said hanger comprising: a vertically disposed generally cylindrical mandrel having a main passage axially therethrough and a downwardly facing seating surface formed at the lower end thereof adapted to seat upon the upwardly facing shoulder of said landing nipple, means on the lower portion of said mandrel for connecting well tubing thereto, a plurality of resilient elongated finger members fixedly mounted at one end thereof on and around the exterior of said mandrel, said elongated finger members extending longitudinally along said mandrel, an upwardly facing seating surface formed on the free ends of said finger members, an expander sleeve mounted on said mandrel for limited longitudinal movement thereon between first and second positions relative thereto, cam means on said expander sleeve slidable between said mandrel and said free ends of said finger members to force said free finger member ends outwardly from said mandrel when said sleeve is in its first position, whereby said upwardly facing surfaces thereon may engage the downwardly facing landing nipple shoulder, said cam means being removed from between the mandrel and the free ends of said fingers when said sleeve is in its second position to allow said free ends to move inwardly towards said mandrel, means on said expander sleeve for engagement with wire line well tools, packing means on the exterior of said mandrel below said finger members for sealing the space between said mandrel and the landing nipple, said mandrel further having a radial passage therethrough below said packing means, a ring valve member mounted on said main passage and longitudinally slidable therein, a shear pin extending through said radial passage and into said ring member to normally restrain sliding movement of said ring member relative to said mandrel, and sealing means disposed between said ring member and said mandrel to normally prevent duid flow through said radial passage.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,897,985 Otis -..Feb 14, 1933 2,506,680 Otis May 9, 1950 2,698,056 Marshall et al. Dec. 28, 1954 

